The Kansas City Current defeat the Chicago Red Stars, 6-3, in front of a record crowd.

In the final home game at Children’s Mercy Park of the season and closing their 2-year use of the stadium, as the new stadium is set to open for the 2024 season at the Riverfront, the KC Current hosted the Chicago Red Stars on this crisp evening in Kansas City. While the Current’s playoff hopes ended and the team did not live up to pre-season expectations, 15,671 showed up to support the team, breaking the record in Kansas City, breaking the record for the 4th time this season as the Current won 6-3, eliminating the Red Stars from the playoffs.

Starting XI

The Current began in a 4-3-3 with Franch, Rodriguez, Ballisager, Ball, Del Fava, Debinha, LaBonta, Loera, Spaanstra, Hamilton ©, Cooper making the starting XI.

Goalfest

We will break down every goal, but since there were 9 goals, here’s a quick recap of each goal first.

• Goal 1. 14th minute. Kansas City. Izzy Rodriguez.
• Goal 2. 20th minute. Chicago. Kayla Lynne Sharples.
• Goal 3. 22nd minute. Kansas City. Lo’eau LaBonta.
• Goal 4. 44th minute. Kansas City. Alex Spaanstra.
• Goal 5. 45+1 minute, stoppage time. Own goal from Kansas City.
• Goal 6. 52nd minute. Kansas City. Debinha.
• Goal 7. 63th minute. Chicago. Bianca St-Georges.
• Goal 8. 90+2 minute. Kansas City. Cece Kizer.
• Goal 9. 90+6 minute. Mimmi Larsson.

It was quite the performance from a Kansas City team that didn’t have a postseason to look forward to, but on this night, in front of a record crowd, the Current gave everyone a glimpse of what 2023 could have been.  Six different players scored for the Current, setting a record for the most goals scored in a single game in club history.

From the beginning, the Current looked organized and weaved though the Chicago defense with ease. It was only a matter of time before the Current would take the lead with Izzy Rodriguez scoring the first goal of the night in the 14th minute. Six minutes later, Chicago would equalize after the Current failed to clear the ball away after a corner kick.

With the score at 1-1, the Current’s attack again ended up in Chicago’s final third. This time, Hamilton took it inside the box, passed to Spaanstra, who gave a back heel pass to LaBonta, who dribbled around the defense and sent a shot in for the goal and the 2-1 lead.

As halftime approached, rookie Alex Spaanstra extended the Current’s lead to 3-1, and it would seem as if that would be the score headed into halftime. In stoppage time goalkeeper AD Franch missed a back pass roll right underneath her feet and into the back of the net, giving Chicago their second goal of the evening, making it 3-2 at halftime.

If five goals were not enough, Debinha would be the next Current player to score early into the second half and extend the lead to 4-2 in the 52nd minute. Midfielder Alex Loera sent a ball to Debinha, who headed right into the goal box and scored the Current’s fourth goal. The goal was reviewed for Debinha being offside, but VAR showed that Debinha was in an onside position.

The Red Stars would not give up, however, despite the scoreline. In the 63rd minute, Chicago cut the deficit to one goal as Bianca St. Georges took advantage of a rebound in the goal box. The scored remained 4-3 heading into stoppage time. It was in those final minutes of  stoppage time that the Current solidified their dominance in this game, scoring 2 more goals to cap off the evening for a final 6-3 score. Cece Kizer scored her sixth goal of the season, and Mimmi Larsson scored her second goal of 2023, giving the home crowd reasons to cheer on the final home game of the year.

“That’s a team dub right there,” said LaBonta while addressing fans after the game. “That’s what I’m talking about. We would not be where we are without you guys, you are the root of this team, you guys are always going to be here, players will come in and out, but we are here for you guys.”

The Current wrap up the 2023 regular season on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC next Sunday with kickoff scheduled for 4pm CT.